Faarel Blackthorne
Faarel Blackthorne was a Jedi Master from the times of the Old Republic. Born on Corellia, he was admitted into the Jedi Order and grew into a formidable warrior. He experienced many adventures in his life, and was an active participant in the Clone Wars as a Jedi Master. As a Jedi Knight, he met and married Trina, and she gave birth to two children; Cadden and Aaralyn Blackthorne. Stationed on Corellia, Faarel was overseeing a battle when Order 66 was issued. He managed to use the Force to escape death, and enlisted the aid of a friend to sabotage the galactic records of all accounts of him being a Jedi. Afterwards, Faarel settled down with a family and discretely aided the remaining Jedi, and Rebel Alliance, as an Imperial officer. He was a Moff when his estate was overrun by elite stormtroopers, lead by the assassin Ilan Garuda. Under the orders of Inquisitor Ansara Bansari, Garuda and the soldiers ransacked the place, and the dark Jedi killed Faarel's wife, Trina right before his eyes. Resisting anger, and thus death, Faarel fled into exile. He resurfaced many years later, and joined the New Jedi Order. He was placed in the Jedi Council, and swore to serve the Order with his life. Come the Battle of Onderon, his service was put to the test, and the Dark Lord Sivter stabbed him with a dagger laced with Sith Poison during lightsaber combat. Faarel died minutes later. History Early Life Faarel Blackthorne was born on Corellia to Akitane Blackthorne and an unknown woman. His grandfather, while unconfirmed, was supposedly strong in the Force, due to the history of his family. Shortly after his birth, Faarel was taken by the Jedi Order to undergo his rigorous training as a youngling, under Master Yoda's watchful eye. He was located directly below Qidak Aaia's class at the Jedi Temple; however, neither of the two younglings saw much of each other, and the chances became fewer and fewer as they gew older, until Faarel was eventually chosen by a Whiphid Jedi Master named L'hnnar to become a Padawan. L'hnnar took Faarel under his wing and taught him how to harness his powers, and grow in the Force. The Whiphid, though not the most well-known Jedi in the Order, held high faith for the young Faarel Blackthorne’s abilities. He participated with his master in the Stark Hyperspace War, where he fought with the skill and valor equal to that of many of the Jedi Knights and some of the Masters present during the war. At the war's end, he was proven a worthy adversary to many, and the more he honed his skills, the stronger he became in the Force. He passed the Trials at a nineteen years old and became a Jedi Knight, just after the end of the Stark Hyperspace War. Jedi Knight Not long after Faarel became a Jedi Knight, he was sent with others from the Order to help qwell the uprising in the Kol Huro system. It was three years after the end of the uprising that Faarel opted to take on his own padawan learner. Upon doing so, he vowed to teach the child everything he learned under the tutelage of his own master. While there was no galactic conflict to be spoken of for several years, Faarel nevertheless took assignments issued from the Council and used these instances to offer as lessons to his padawan learner. Both of them grew in the Force, as Faarel learned more about himself than he had under the guidance of L'hnnar. During his travels, Faarel met a woman on the planet Alderaan, serving as a member of the Galactic Senate. He fell in love with her and, about a year before the Yinchorri Uprising, Faarel and Trina got married, despite the objections from the Jedi Council. Afterwards, Trina traveled with Faarel to Corellia, whereupon she soon retired her seat on the Senate, and from politics, in order to raise the son she was expecting to have by the next year. Faarel's duties to the Jedi Order were strong, however, which helped settle the Council's objections, and he remained loyal to the Order and its cause. When his padawan was ready to become a knight, he was taken with Faarel to participate in the Yinchorri Uprising. It was during the uprising that Faarel's first child, Cadden, was born back on Corellia. During the war, Faarel met his former master once more and the four Jedi fought alongside each other when the opportunity presented itself. The additional insight L'hnnar had to offer to both of them was valuable. However, the conflict did not come without a cost, and L'hnnar's new padawan was killed. Faarel and his padawan survived the conflict, and through the trial the Council permitted the padawan to become a knight, and granted Faarel the rank of Jedi Master shortly after. Jedi Master Faarel continued to serve the Order, despite the (mostly) peaceful decade to follow. However, following the Invasion of Naboo and death of Darth Maul, Faarel was more apprehensive of the lasting peace on a galactic scale. While he served the Jedi Order, his father opted to help Trina with the raising of Cadden. By 31 BBY, she gave birth to a daughter. Unlike Cadden, Aaralyn was clearly Force-sensitive. Trina remembered the events that transpired but a year prior and, fearing for her daughter's life, she asked Faarel to not reveal her sensitivity. Reluctantly, he agreed, respecting her wishes and understanding why she felt this way. It was not hard to keep Aaralyn away from the Jedi Order, given that Cadden was deemed unable to use the Force, and the secret was well kept in the family. By the time of the start of the Separatist Crisis, Faarel had taken on a second padawan and was active in policing the galaxy with the boy. He could feel war approaching the Republic, as the tensions with the Separatists continued to rise. During the crisis, Faarel and his padawan participated in several battles, including the Battle of Antar 4 and the Battle of Geonosis. Throughout the crisis, the two Jedi fought hard for the Republic, and at the beginning of the Clone Wars, they were immediately put into battle against the Confederacy Of Independent Systems. .]] Through the Clone Wars, Faarel continued to fight for peace and justice against a corrupt galaxy. By the time the Clone Wars came to an end, Faarel was stationed on Corellia. It was here that Darth Sidious issued Order 66, and while Faarel survived, his padawan died. Faarel managed to evade the Clone Army stationed on Corellia, and sought refuge away from his home. He secretly enlisted the aid of his longtime friend and ally Belyn Kumar from Naboo to lead a group of RSF specialists to Coruscant, where they successfully altered the galactic records on the Blackthorne family. With no connection between the Blackthornes and the Jedi, Faarel opted to live a masked life as an Imperial officer to Palpatine's New Order, secretly aiding the remaining Jedi and the rising Rebellion from under the table. Faarel was granted the rank of Moff by the Empire during his time of service, while his son was fighting for the them. This caused many heated debates while Cadden was at home and, possibly, this was a core contribution to a horrible fate. Downfall In 3 BBY, the Empire had discovered the anomaly in the galactic records. Imperial Intelligence was able to trace the anomaly back to when Belyn Kumar and his team had altered the records, and uncovered the truth about the Blackthorne Family. They sent the Sith Assassin Ilan Garuda and a cadre of stormtroopers, under the leadership of Ansara Banasari, to "take care" of the problem. Faarel, just before the attack, learned that his status of Moff was revoked, and was quick to attempt an escape from his and Trina's inevitable fate. However, he was too late. Ilan arrived and relieved him of his command, and nearly his life. Faarel was dealt a temporarily crippling blow in the duel against the younger, stronger, and faster of the two, and was forced to watch the Sith Assassin kill his wife in front of his eyes. Faarel gathered the strength to flee, knowing he could not hope to win the battle, and went into exile on Dantooine, living alone and in the wild for several years. New Jedi Order When he caught news of the Empire's defeat at Endor, Faarel returned from Exile and headed over to Bespin, whereupon he remained for some time, regaining a connection to society. Roughly ten years later, a call came out to the rest of the Jedi to meet at Midpoint, and Faarel answered the call, leaving everything behind in hopes that he could still be of assistance. A member of the new Jedi Council, Faarel has regained contact with his son, but the whereabouts of his daughter remain unknown. He relocated with the rest of the Council to Onderon, having chosen the world for the new Praxeum himself, and opted to stay behind when the Jedi convened to fight Gait and the Xen'Chi. While still a formidable enough warrior, Faarel knew he would be of better use staying behind and defending Onderon, should it fall under attack. Prophetically, it did. The Cult of Shadow launched an attack on Onderon but days after the Mandalorian pyrrhic victory on Mandalore. The battle was joined by Cadden Blackthorne and Zan Fyar, as well as Araya and other Jedi. But the cost would be dear. Faarel sensed a wake in Sivter's presence as the powerful Darksider made his way to the Archives. It was his perogative to track down the Dark Jedi Master, and defend the Archives from whatever plan he had with the information stored within. Unfortunately, after a heated duel, Sivter utilized the method of striking Faarel with a dagger laden with Sith Poison. Blackthorne's abilities in the Force were only capable of delaying the effect, and he died in his son's arms shortly afterward, becoming one with the Force. Legacy Faarel's legacy would continue long after his death. The Jedi Order named one of their ships after him, and he had a place of honor among Ossus's great hall. Additionally, he was often referenced and cited among the members of the Order for his hard work and dedication to their survival and sustainability, and his loss was grieved by many. Additionally, Faarel appeared to both Kalja Sairu Leidias and Aaralyn in visions in his ghostly form, and, despite his circumstances while as Darth Trayus, had managed on occasion to reach out to Cadden as a distant voice of reason. While this did not prove enough to help his son break free of Rahk'neqah's control, it did help to temper Cadden's own emotions to a small extent. Skills and Abilities Lightsaber Combat Faarel employed his mastery of Makashi and Ataru during his duels to create a deadly form of combat. Additionally, he infused these techniques with his mastery of Medium Style lightsaber combat, and often attempted to employ Inverse Dun Möch on his opponents, in order to come to a better solution than death. Force Powers Faarel spent his time training in Force powers used for times of both peace and war. Most were typically nothing more than powerful basic skills. Faarel used the following non-standard Force powers: *Alter Environment *Force Cloak *Force Concealment *Force Deflection *Force Light *Force Persuasion *Force Valor *Mind trick Active Threads *The Search For Significance II: The Path (Featured death) Category:Cadden Category:Corellians Category:Jedi Order Category:Jedi Council Category:Blackthorne Family